Australian ODI team for India announced

Michael Bevan, Darren Lehman, Ian Harvey, Andrew Symonds and Nathan Bracken has been named in the Australian 14 for the forthcoming limited overs series against India starting on March 25. Jason Gillespie is the only addition to the squad that won the 2000-01 Carlton Series against the West Indies and Zimbabwe. The right-arm fast bowler missed the series due to a hamstring injury.

The players who will return after the Test series are Michael Slater, Justin Langer, Colin Miller, Michael Kasprowicz and Matthew Hayden. The limited-overs series begins in Bangalore on March 25, followed by games in Pune on March 28, Indore on March 31, Visakapatnam on April 3 and Goa on April 6.

The team: Steve Waugh (Captain), Adam Gilchrist, Michael Bevan, Nathan Bracken, Damien Fleming, Jason Gillespie, Ian Harvey, Darren Lehmann, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Shane Warne, Mark Waugh.

Batting is our strength, says Ganguly

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said in Kolkata on Saturday that the team would stick to the same batting line-up in the second Test at the Eden Gardens starting Sunday. "Batting is our strength and we will stick to the same batting order for the Eden Test," Ganguly told reporters before the team's practice session.

Expressing happiness over the Eden track, Ganguly said "The track appears to favour the batsmen, it's flat. It looks a good one." On his lack of form, Ganguly said "I have just failed in one Test match. When you are playing for five or six years, some failures are bound to occur. It happened in Mumbai, coincidentally we lost the match."

Indian manager Chetan Chauhan said that the team had analysed the last game and had planned out certain strategies for the second Test. "We are hoping to do well at the Eden Gardens. We have discussed the last game in great detail and we are working on our weaknesses," Chauhan said. He added "The boys are raring to go. They are all in good spirits and looking forward to the Test. Hopefully, we will do well."

Aussie leg spinner Shane Warne, speaking to the press after the practice session, said that the Australian team was capable of fulfilling its long cherished dream of winning the Test series in India. Warne said "If we can play the way we did at Mumbai, we can hope to win the Test series in India," Warne said. "We want to keep things rolling. Things are going on nicely for us. We want to clinch the series at the Eden Gardens," he said.

Samir Dighe to lead Mumbai on Australian tour

Samir Dighe will lead Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai on their tour of Australia to participate in the Global one-day Provincial championship (day-night) at the WACA ground, Perth to be played from March 29 to April 12. The team will leave for Australia on March 26.

Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) joint secretary Mayank Khandwala said in Mumbai on Friday that middleorder batsman Amol Mujumdar would be Dighe's deputy in the 14-member squad. Four national champions Mumbai (India), Western Warriors (Australia), Central Districts (New Zealand) and Kwa-Zulu Natal (South Africa) are taking part in the competition. The winners will take $35,000 Aus (Rs 9.45 lakhs) while the runners-up will get $12,500 Aus (Rs 3.40 lakhs), he added. The player of the series will get $2500 Aus (Rs 67,500).

The team: Samir Dighe (Capt & wk), Amol Muzumdar (Vice-capt), Wasim Jaffer, Robin Morris, Vinod Kambli, Jatin Paranjpe, Sairaj Bahutule, Ramesh Powar, Paras Mhambrey, Santosh Saxena, Nilesh Kulkarni, Vinayak Mane, Sriram Kannan and Amit Dani. Coach: Ashok Mankad. Manager: Mayank Khandwala. Official: Ravi Sawant.

Itinerary: Mar 29: Kwa-Zulu-Natal vs Central Districts, Mar 30: Mumbai vs Western Warriors, Mar 31: Western Warriors vs Kwa Zulu-Natal, Apr 1: Mumbai vs Kwa Zulu-Natal, Apr 2: Mumbai vs Central Districts, Apr 3: Western Warriors vs Central Districts, Apr 4: Final.

© CricInfo